Libya

OpenOil is working with Revenue Watch Instituteand Global Witness, among others, to try and ensure that the change of government in Libya can lead to better management of the industry there for the Libyan people.

OpenOil conducted a field assessment to Tripoli and Misrata in October 2011, meeting Libyan and international oil executives. Based on those discussions we have been commissioned to conduct a preliminary study of the potential to create a “fair trade” or equitable certification of Libyan oil all the way from well-head in the Sahara to European petrol station, looking at the environmental, communal and revenue governance aspects of the value chain. Results will be available early in 2012.

In addition, a trip to Benghazi undertaken earlier in the year led to a chapter on Libyan oil in OpenOil founder Johnny West’s book on the Arab Spring, Karama! We have already suggested that the new government has a perfect opportunity to publish all contractssigned in the Gaddafi era, creating a global first for good governance in the industry.

Imagine there was a way to cut carbon emissions which saved everyone money, left the poor better off and freed up public funds for spending on things like health and education, which paid for itself, required no capital intensive investments in new or smarter infrastructure, relied entirely on existing and proven technologies, and in fact provided an opportunity to re-build (or, in some cases, build for the first time) a relationship of trust between hundreds of millions of citizens around the world and their governments. Well, there is. Replace all fossil fuel subsidies with cash distributions to the entire people, set at a level which covers the rise in prices for the average citizen - the Dividend Subsidy Swap.